Get in touch with Watetown TAB

Thursday

Jul 24, 2014 at 4:17 PMJul 24, 2014 at 4:18 PM

Contract questions

Watertown Firefighters have been working without a contract for over five years. This means that the firefighters have not received a cost of living increase for over five years. Will the Tab please investigate/write a story about why all the other departments in Watertown get new contracts/raises, but the Fire Department does not? Certainly does not seem justified.ConnectocracyMy friend has two cell phones. He leaves one at work and one at home. One day his brother sends a text message to his personal phone at 7:00am asking if he can babysit for the day. (His sonís school is cancelled due to snow.) He sends another message at 9:00am asking where he is and why he hasn't responded. When my friend arrives home that night he finds the messages and calls his brother. He apologizes for missing the messages and explains his habit of leaving his phone at home. His brother then informs him that he has lost his trust and that he can no longer rely on him.Whatís going on here? Owning a cell phone has become like the following scenario: Youíre standing in the middle of a large room and everyone youíve ever met is there in a circle around you, all shouting your name at once and becoming upset and insulted when you donít respond immediately. Imagine a presidential press conference with no rules and no moderator. Think British Parliament.Furthermore, we now judge a personís character by the speed of their response, regardless of whether any useful information is conveyed or any problems resolved. It has become more virtuous to leave a message - voice, text or email - stating that you received a prior message, than to take any actual steps to address the issue that spawned the correspondence in the first place. These days careers are made and unmade according to this code of instantaneous and non-substantive networking. A coworker of mine expressed it thus: ďMy real job is proliferating increasingly complicated and intertwining strands of phone tag with as many people as possible.Ē It is a case of response liability: If I call, text or email you back, the content hardly matters. I have returned your serve. The volley is in your hands. My job is done, at least for now. And in this age of hyperconnection, now - that ever-shrinking window for action - is all that seems to matter.Get in touch with us and tell us what's on your mind, share a story, leave a message: 781-433-8399. If you've got something to share about your Watertown community, give us a ring! You can also always email your thoughts, tips or stories to watertown@wickedlocal.com or by the USPS at Watertown TAB attn:SpeakOut, 80 Central St., Somerville, MA 02143.